DIY Teeny Tiny Solar Insect Robots

You don’t have to droid making skills like Anakin Skywalker to create your own tiny droid. It’s easy with tips and tricks from Make magazine’s Bre Pettis, host of the “Weekend Projects” series. In his regular DIY video podcast, he explains the science behind all kinds of cool projects, making it fun for you to learn while crafting! Recently, Pettis gave viewers the lowdown on how to construct solar-powered insect robots.

“One of the great things about these little bots is that you can make them from scavenged materials,” Pettis says. “Use parts from broken electronics and bring them back to life as little robots!”

These tiny robots fall under the category of BEAM (Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, Mechanics) robots and are powered by the sun. Using his own robot-building expertise and pointers from the book JunkBots, Bugbots, and Bots on Wheels: Building Simple Robots With BEAM Technology by David Hrynkiw and Mark Tilden, Pettis offers a step-by-step guide on making your own little mechanical friend.